Transnet's problems extended far beyond the infamous 1064 locomotive deal. The port division — particularly the Durban container terminal — experienced a catastrophic decline in efficiency that directly impacted South Africa's economic competitiveness. The World Bank's Container Port Performance Index ranked Durban 351st out of 405 global ports in 2023, down from approximately 64th in 2010. Ship waiting times at Durban regularly exceeded 100 hours.
The consequences were devastating: mining companies could not export efficiently, costing the economy billions in commodity revenue. Manufacturers faced supply chain disruptions. South Africa's competitiveness as a logistics hub for southern Africa was destroyed.
The causes were familiar: cadre deployment in senior management positions, corrupt equipment procurement (Transnet spent billions on port equipment that was either defective or never delivered), cable theft and infrastructure sabotage (copper cable theft at ports and rail lines was endemic), and systematic underinvestment in maintenance. Transnet's pipeline division faced similar challenges, with fuel theft siphoning millions from the ageing Durban-Gauteng fuel pipeline.
Portia Derby served as Transnet Group CEO from 2020 to 2024 with a turnaround mandate. Despite this, port efficiency continued to decline. The R126 billion infrastructure backlog was not meaningfully addressed.
The corporatisation of TNPA in 2024 — separating the port authority from Transnet's rail and pipeline operations — was intended to attract private investment and improve governance. However, the inherited problems were immense.
Business for South Africa estimated in 2023 that logistics failures cost the economy R60-100 billion per year in lost GDP. This makes Transnet's post-state-capture dysfunction one of the most economically damaging ongoing corruption legacies in the country.